Victims Rachel Zendejas (left) and Lisa Gondek (right). Credit: Ventura County DA
A Southern California man was charged Thursday with killing two women in 1981 after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Tony Garcia, 68, of Oxnard appeared in court but his arraignment was continued to Feb. 23, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said.
Garcia, a Navy veteran and former martial arts teacher, is accused of kidnapping, raping and strangling Rachel Zendejas, 20, in Camarillo in January 1981 and strangling 21-year-old Lisa Gondek in Oxnard in December 1981.
Zendejas was found dead in a carport in Camarillo and Gondek was found in bathtub after a reported apartment fire in Oxnard.
Garcia lived for decades only a few miles away from the crime scenes until he finally was linked to the killings, authorities said.
“The fact is, this suspect has been hiding in plain sight, for over 40 years,” Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said at a news conference Thursday.
In 2004, investigators determined that the same person killed the women but couldn’t find a DNA match in a law enforcement database. In 2019, investigators began to explore the possibility of identifying a suspect through forensic genetic genealogy.
Garcia is charged with two counts of murder with special allegations that they were multiple killings and that one involved kidnapping and rape. The District Attorney’s Office hasn’t decided whether to seek the death penalty or life in prison without parole.
"They later developed leads that identified the suspect as Tony Garcia," Fryhoff said.
Police knew there were significant similarities in the manner and circumstances of the killings long before the DNA proof.
"We have identified a number of common denominators that link the cases," Oxnard Police Chief Jason Benites said, but declined to share details publicly. He and other officials at the announcement Thursday said they did not know if Garcia was ever questioned or considered a suspect in the initial investigations.
Garcia was arrested early last week and stands accused of first degree murder with special circumstances for both homicides.